2 May 2013 Transcript of the Speech that was delivered
by HRH Princess Mele Siu'ilikutapu at the Public Administration in Very Small
States Conference in London, United Kingdom 24 April 2013.

I bring a very
warm and sincere greeting from HM King Tupou VI of the Kingdom of Tonga and the
people of the Kingdom, as well as their prayers for the ongoing s.uccess of our
missions to uplift the quality of our national administrative services, through
the adaptation of our traditional modes and objectives of governance to our
contemporary challenges.

May I begin by noting that the time frame for
most of Tonga's historical governance modernisation, wherein the traditional ideology,
structure and operation of government to be modernised was actually in
the nineteenth century and not in more contemporary times.

This makes the examination
of our subject in Tonga far more interesting and challenging.

Very briefly, Tonga
is a Constitutional Monarchy in the South Pacific, consisting of 150 islands,
about 30 0f which are inhabited.

Our population is approximately 100,000, with large
communities overseas, especially in New Zealand, Australia and the United
States of America.

We are primarily
an agricultural, fishing and tourism economy, with free government primary
education, health and dental care.

Like all Nations
today, we are greatly affected by the difficult world economy, but due to our
age-old strong family based concepts of governance, most Tongans have free land
from their Government, the Monarch, or traditional leaders, where they live and
grow their food.

This is why there
is relatively very few homelessness or starvation in Tonga..

Tonga is firstly a kinship nation state. It is
made up of a population who, by their common ancestry from antiquity, are
related to one another, and thus constitute the national kinship unit that is
Tonga.

With this basis,
Tonga's governance ideology, structure and objectives, are fundamentally those
of the family.

Thus, to put it
simply, Tonga's kinship leaders, hierarchy and structure, were also their
political hierarchy.

Similarly, Tonga's
national political ideology, are also basically those of the kinship system,
namely to love, care and protect the socio-political nation that is the
Kingdom of Tonga.

Very briefly, Tonga's core kinship group is the extended family,
consisting of the parents, and their children and other relatives. This unit is headed by the father and he is
responsible for their livelihood, welfare and governance.

Secondly, related
extended families form the next larger kinship group namely the kainga, which are headed by their
hereditary elders or ‘ulumotua.

Thirdly, related kainga combine to form the clans which
are also headed by their senior hereditary chiefs or nobles.

Finally, all of
Tonga's clans and chiefs, all of whom are in fact descended from common royal
ancestors. The national royal kinship
head of Tonga, namely the Hau, is the
head or king. This is the kinship
nation of Tonga.

When we turn to the traditional political structure, hierarchy, and
the roles of the Government of Tonga, we find that they are none other than the
same kinship structure and system. That is, the ‘ulumotua , chiefs , nobles and the Hau forming the Government of Tonga, and their basic roles
and authority, as well as their ideology of governance, were those of the kinship system . It is this
unique combination of the kinship-political formula, structure and ideology,
which has given Tonga her unique historical cohesion, stability and strengths. This is the political nation of Tonga.

One of the
fundamental features of old
governance in the world, regardless of
whether they were kinship societies or not,
was their centuries old ideology that all men were not equal,
and that the rulers were the owners and masters
of the ruled.

Indeed, the
central theme of modern governance ideology and practice, is the replacement of
this doctrine with the opposite tenet, that all men are equal.

Accordingly, we value
the ongoing promotion of the best and most ethical governance, which ensures
the fulfilment of this most valuable doctrine.

Tonga's ancient
and traditional society was the same; hence our political and governance
evolution had to involve ideological changes to our world concept on the issue
of the status of all men.

According to archaeology, anthropology, oral
tradition and history, Tonga has always been one kingdom, under the rule of
three dynasties, all of whom were descended from one common ancestor. Tonga's
first king and the founder of the first dynasty, the Tu'i Tonga dynasty was in about 950 AD.

By about the 15th Century, the twenty-fourth King decided to retain only the semi-divine and
superior social status of the Tu'i Tonga,
but transfer his temporal kingship powers and responsibilities to his son, whom
he appointed to head the new dynasty he created, namely the Tu'i Ha'a Takalaua dynasty.

At the beginning
of the seventeenth century, the then king also decided to retain only the
social status of kingship, and assigned his temporal powers to his son whom he
appointed to head Tonga's third and last dynasty, namely the Tu'i Kanokupolu dynasty.

Altogether Tonga
has had about seventy Monarchs, and the current king, his Majesty King Tupou
VI, is Tonga's seventy first monarchs since the first Tu'i Tonga ‘Aho'eitu in about 950 AD.

As is apparent from the above, Tonga was
already a united and single nation state with a national government since
antiquity.

The achievement of
this very advanced governance status in human political evolution at this very
early stage, a status not yet achieved
by many nations until about the nineteenth century onwards, is indeed a
miracle.

For further
reference we may recall, that some of Europe's political unifications did not
occur until the nineteenth century.

The political
unification of others was only effected by their colonial powers, and there are
even some who are still going through this journey today.

As such, the
governance journey we are going through, does not involve only the journey from
the old to contemporary governance, but it also includes the journey towards
single nationhood.

Mainly as a consequence of Tonga already
having a reasonably effective traditional national government from antiquity , plus her early successful diplomacy which resulted in her Treaties of
Friendship with the colonial powers in the Pacific, such as France, Germany,
the United Kingdom and the United States of America, Tonga successfully retained her precious independence.

She did become a
British protected state in 1904, when European
rivalries were highly accelerating
in the Pacific, but this only made the United Kingdom party to the conduct of Tonga's
foreign relations, but not her internal affairs, and this relationship ended in
1970.

With all of these
political and governance developments, Tonga was employing her traditional
system and governance, as well as the contemporary methodologies of the time,
such as the securing of her treaties with the European powers.

Once again it was
the strengths of Tonga's traditional Government and governance which had made
it a nation since antiquity, and also won her the retention of her precious
independence in the face of global colonialism.

At the same time,
the nineteenth century was also a period of heightened dynastic, religious and civil wars in Tonga, which were further
complicated by the conflicting forces
of European colonialism and the use of firearms.

Despite these disruptions
and pressures, it was indeed amazing that the course of the political and
governance modernisation of Tonga, and their basis upon the combined
strengths of the traditional and the modern, still proceeded, and did indeed
achieve the most amazing results.

With the highly summarised background above, may we now look more
closely at the role played by Tonga's nineteenth century traditional modes of
governance in the new challenges to Tonga's then contemporary administration? And,
as indicated earlier, it was the heightened western colonialism in the pacific
in the nineteenth century, a force which neither Tonga nor any other pacific
nation had experienced so intensely before, which was pushing Tonga's traditional
government to deal with.

By its very
nature, this subject and this encounter was destined to force the alignment of
the traditional and modern philosophies of nationhood, and the traditional and
modern modes of governance.

The greatest
marvel which followed was that it was neither the old nor the new governance
ideology and practices which facilitated Tonga's governance revolution.

It was in fact the
traditional ruler's conversion to Christianity.

In 1831 Tonga's
eighteenth Tu'i Kanokupolu Aleamotua accepted Christianity. Two
years later his named successor Taufa'ahau, who was then king of the two northern island groups of Vava'u and Ha'apai, and
later became the great King George Tupou 1 (1845-1893) and the maker of modern
Tonga, accepted Christianity.

Immediately, and
without any other ado, he began the Christian based revolution of Tonga's
governance and society. In 1839, he issued the Vava'u code. Consisting of eight
clauses.

It began the
revolutionary sermon that all people were created equal by god, and were
therefore entitled to their freedom and dignity.

In 1845, Taufa'ahau succeeded Aleamotu'a as the nineteenth Tu'i
Kanokupolu and second Christian King of Tonga.

Five years later
in 1850, he issued Tonga's first national code of laws, with its forty three
clauses. This document codified nationally the principles expressed in the Vava'u
Code, and also provided the support legislation and processes for the
maintenance of law and order. The
promotion of ethical governance, and the principles and practice of
accountability for one's actions.

Like the Vava'u Code,
it also established nationally the all important principle of land rights for
the people, and required the chiefs to grant them free land.

In 1862, King
George tupou 1, again voluntarily issued Tonga's famous Emancipation Law
Code.

This finally abolished all serfdom thus making the whole Tongan society
free. Combined with their land rights and grant of free town and farming land,
the lives of the people of Tonga were much better provided for than in most
societies.

None of these were
the results of public pressure or activity.

All were freely and voluntarily granted by King George Tupou 1, as
inspired and motivated by his Christian faith.

Finally in 1875 King
George tupou 1, again voluntarily, established Tonga as a Constitutional
Monarchy, whose constitution was the second oldest written one in the world to that
of the United States of America.

The most dramatic
and again voluntary provision of this constitution was the fact that it made
the Monarch subservient to the written law, like everyone else.

The Government of Tonga
now consisted of the Constitutional Monarch as the Head of State. He chaired Privy
Council whose members consisted of the Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, and
two regional Governors, all of whom he appointed.

The Head of the Executive
was the Prime Minister who chaired Cabinet.

Parliament or the Legislature
consisted of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers, as well as the elected
representatives of the nobility and the people.

As clearly
described, this modern Governance of Tonga was never the product of a public
conversion to the merits of good or modern governance. Nor was it a
product of public pressure for political change. All were basically the products of the
Christian conversion and inspirations of the maker of modern Tonga, namely his
majesty King George Tupou, 1.

Tupou 1's
voluntarily granting of political power to the people, finally climaxed at the
end of 2010, when his descendant the late King George Tupou V then surrendered
the remaining executive powers of the Monarch to the people.

This was achieved through making parliament fully elected, and
responsible for electing the prime minister.

Very quickly fast
tracking Tonga from the nineteenth century to today, we find that the wisdom
and practice of combining our traditional and modern Governance institutions
and modes are already standard practice. Meanwhile, the key
governance issues of today are more to do with what may be the right ways to
mix and apply the traditional and the contemporary. This seemingly simple issue
for example is often far more substantial than is often understood.

In 2005, Tonga
experienced her most serious and sometimes violent public service strike, over
the issue of salary rises.

For weeks
government had unsuccessfully tried to disperse the strikers from their
twenty four hour meeting place next to the Prime Minister's Office, and the Cabinet
and Privy Council chambers.

The situation was
becoming tenser and more polarised, and no compromise was in sight.

One day after another frustrating Privy Council meeting, the King's daughter who was then the Princess
Regent, decided to turn from the governmental to the traditional method of
problem solving, by personally going and talking to the strikers.

Culturally, that
you had caused your royal kinship leader such an inconvenience is a most embarrassing
breach of protocol. Good manners demand their immediate apologies to Her Royal Highness.
At the same time, that Her Royal Highness should nevertheless still come to
talk and hear their grievances and seek their solution, is an exceptional
expression of her love and care for them.

When the strikers
suddenly saw her royal highness walking towards them, they all became silent,
and went down from their chairs and sat on the grass, as is the custom when
royalty is present. And when Her Royal Highness addressed them asking about
their grievances, and telling them to disperse and return to the service of the
nation, they hung their heads in silence and with many in tears, they then
apologised for the seeming disrespect to Her Royal Highness, and they dispersed.

That evening, they
called at Her Royal Highness's residence with the appropriate presentations,
and formally apologised for the "indignity" they had caused her.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
we have briefly surveyed how the combination of the traditional and modern ideologies
and practices of governance in Tonga ,
have achieved exceptional results. The traditional modes of governance
are the footprints of excellence from
the past , and the above examples
in Tonga have clearly highlighted
how the traditional governance which have sprung up from the grass roots of their societies, are the
absolutely essential basis for
effective and successful governance.

Without them,
administrations will not only be ineffective, but may also be destructive.

Indeed where there
is scant respect and the exclusion of the past, there is a destructive vacuum.
But where the past is included and forms the rightful basis for the present and
the future then there is both the right substance and continuity which
are the necessary basis for all good governance.

ENDS

Issued by the: Ministry of Information and Communications, Nuku'alofa, 2013.